Sri Lankan troops kill over 60 rebels in north

Colombo, Sep 27 (Xinhua) Sri Lankan troops have killed some 65 Tamil rebels in the country’s embattled northern region, military officials said Saturday. Government troops, who are expected to capture the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) headquarters in Kilinochchi soon, have killed the rebels in areas of Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Welioya districts in clashes that erupted Friday, the officials said.

Thirty-seven rebels were also injured in the confrontations, the officials said, adding that the troops too lost two soldiers while some 29 others were injured.

On Thursday, Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka said that the troops would start bombing Kilinochchi next week.

Separately, six LTTE militants had been arrested in the western coastal town of Negombo Friday after some explosives were found in a house, police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekera said.

In Colombo, five Tamils had also been arrested for alleged terrorist connections in a search operation, the police spokesman said.

The LTTE rebels have been fighting the government troops since the mid-1980s in order to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community.